Melanie R Keats

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Dalhousie University

While developments in cancer therapeutics have greatly reduced morbidity and mortality in females with breast cancer, it comes at a cost of an increased risk of cardiovascular complications. In particular, anthracyclines, like doxorubicin, which are a mainstay of current chemotherapy regimens, are associated with dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Exer...

This study aimed to determine the feasibility and potential efficacy of a 12-wk aerobic exercise intervention to mitigate cardiotoxicity in those with breast and hematological cancer receiving anthracycline (AC) treatment. Individuals with breast or hematological cancer that were within 8 wk of initiating AC treatment attended a 12-wk biweekly exer...

We evaluated the relationship between mental health and shift work in the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow's Health (PATH) cohort study. In a matched study with 12,413 participants, including 4155 shift workers and 8258 non-shift workers, we utilized general linear models and logistic regression models to assess the differences in depression, anxi...

PurposeIndividuals living with cancer have been shown to have a higher burden of comorbid disease and multimorbidity in comparison to their cancer-free counterparts consequently, leaving them at risk of polypharmacy (i.e., ≥ 5 medications) and its potential negative effects. The primary aim of the current study was to examine the self-reported prev...

Background: While neighborhood walkability has been shown to positively influence health behaviors, less is known about its impact on chronic disease. Our aim was to examine the association between walkability and self-reported physical activity in relation to chronic health conditions in an Atlantic Canadian population. Methods: Using data from th...

The population of Atlantic Canada is aging rapidly and has among the highest rates of chronic disease in the country. This cross-sectional study drew data from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (Atlantic PATH) study to investigate the association between physical activity and self-rated health among adults in this population. The resul...

Purpose To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric measures and cardiometabolic health in shift workers compared to non-shift workers. Methods A population health study was conducted with 4155 shift workers and 8258 non-shift workers from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH) cohort. Linear and logistic regression models w...

Purpose: Despite the benefits, physical activity levels are low among women with breast cancer; about 70% not engaging in the recommended levels for health benefits. In addition, they spend approximately 66% of their waking time sedentary. Research shows various forms of web-based technology (eHealth/mHealth) to be effective in facilitating activit...

Despite the well-established benefits of physical activity for cancer survivors, the vast majority of survivors are not sufficiently active to reap these benefits. While cancer-specific physical activity guidelines exist, it remains unclear whether there are sufficient resources to support these recommendations. The purpose of this qualitative stud...

Purpose To describe and compare the sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics of urban and rural residents in Atlantic Canada. Methods Cross‐sectional analyses of baseline data from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow's Health cohort were conducted. Specifically, 17,054 adults (35‐69 years) who provided sociodemographic characteristics, mea...

Purpose: Activity behaviors of breast cancer survivors (BCSs) during treatment are unlikely to be at levels sufficient enough to gain health benefits. Previous activity research among BCSs has been mainly posttreatment and generally cross-sectional. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and changes in objectively measured moderate-to-vigorou...

PurposeThe main purpose of this review was to synthesize evidence from existing childhood cancer survivor studies that report the effect of aerobic exercise on cardiopulmonary fitness (a marker of cardiovascular health), in survivors that were currently receiving or had been treated with a cardiotoxic agent. Methods Studies were identified for this...

Fundamental movement skill interventions are important for promoting physical activity, but the optimal intervention model for preschool children remains unclear. We compared two 8-week interventions, a structured skill-station and a planned active play approach, to a free-play control condition on pre- and postintervention fundamental movement ski...

The authors request the following corrections to their paper [1]. [...]

Computer-tailored intervention content tailored to individual characteristics, website/program interactivity, and use of reminders or prompts to action have been linked to user engagement. • We partnered with a team of researchers in Australia with expertise in developing computer-tailored physical activity programs delivered via print-and web-base...

Objectives The prevalence of obesity among populations in the Atlantic provinces is the highest in Canada. Some studies suggest that adequate fruit and vegetable consumption may help body weight management. We assessed the associations between fruit and vegetable intake with body adiposity among individuals who participated in the baseline survey o...

Introduction Contemporary work environments increasingly rely upon a 24 hour work cycle resulting in more employees exposed to shift work. 30% of working age Canadians work evening, night and rotating shifts, and 21% of workers in the European Union. Compared to regular daytime work, shift work has the potential for disturbing sleep patterns and di...

Despite support for the provision of a survivorship care plan (SCP) to every cancer survivor, there is a lack of understanding of the needs and preferences of key stakeholders. We examined perspectives of a novel personalized SCP for childhood cancer survivors (CCS), their family, and family physicians (FP). We conducted semi-structured telephone i...

Background The practice of yoga has been shown to improve disease- and treatment-related side effects in the noncurative cancer patient. Objective This user experience study aimed to examine the feasibility and usefulness of a DVD-based yoga program for young adult cancer patients with a noncurative diagnosis. Methods Participants were asked to p...

Context The increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes greatly influences the risk of cardiovascular (CV) related comorbidities and impacts the quality of life of many. However, the relationship between diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular risk is complex and requires further investigation to understand the biological milieu connecting these con...

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between adipokines and adiposity in individuals with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis in the Atlantic PATH cohort. Using a nested case-control analysis, participants in the Atlantic PATH cohort with rheumatoid or osteoarthritis were matched for measures of adiposity with participants without...

The aim of this study was to examine diet quality among participants in the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH) cohort and to assess the association with adiposity. Data were collected from participants (n = 23,768) aged 35–69 years that were residents of the Atlantic Canadian provinces. Both measured and self-reported data were used...

Owing to an aging population and medical advances, the anticipated growth and prevalence of multimorbidity has been recognized as a significant challenge and priority in health care settings. Although physical activity has been shown to play a vital role in the primary and secondary prevention of chronic disease, much less is known about the relati...

Abstract PurposeThe study aimed to examine the relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and physical activity (PA) levels in cancer survivors (CS). Methods Using a nested, retrospective follow-up design, this study presents the self-reported prevalence of CVD in an Atlantic Canadian population-based cohort of 1526 CS and 6034 age-sex match...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between social identity and PYD in sport. Method: Youth engaged in recreational sport (N?=?219; Mage?=?11.61?years, SD?=?1.39 years) completed measures of social identity and PYD in sport. The social identity measure assessed 3 dimensions including ingroup ties (IGT; percepti...

Background Anthracyclines (AC), widely used and effective anticancer agents, are known to induce both acute and chronic declines in cardiovascular health, ranging in severity from asymptomatic, subclinical dysfunction to substantial cardiomyopathy leading to congestive heart failure and death. There is substantial evidence that physical activity, h...

Purpose Physical activity (PA) is an effective intervention for improving the quality of life of colorectal cancer survivors (CRC) and may reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and cancer specific and all-cause mortality. However, most CRC survivors are not sufficiently active to receive these benefits. Sedentary behavior (SB) has also been linked t...

Purpose: Physical activity (PA) improves quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer survivors (BCS). Moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) has been positively linked with health-related QoL (HRQoL) indicators. This study examined associations between HRQoL and objectively measured PA (MVPA and light) and sedentary behaviour. Methods: Participants completed ba...

249 Background: A growing body of evidence is emerging to suggest that the practice of yoga can improve disease and treatment-related side effects in the non-curative cancer patient by addressing their physical, psychological, and spiritual needs. Regrettably, the literature regarding the positive benefits of yoga for the young adult (YA) non-curat...

66 Background: The treatments that childhood cancer survivors (CCS) undergo can lead to an increased risk of other health problems later in life, and risk-based follow-up care is necessary throughout their lifetime. Regrettably, family physicians caring for CCS often report having no record of their patients’ past disease, treatment history, or nee...

Purpose/Objectives: To identify physical activity (PA) preferences of gynecologic cancer survivors (GCSs) and to understand the reasons for them. Design: Population-based, cross-sectional mailed survey and semistructured interviews with a subsample. Setting: Nova Scotia, Canada. Sample: 239 GCSs completed the survey, and 16 participated in an inter...

With identified decreases in participation and increasing levels of physical inactivity among youth, attention has been directed to understanding what may constitute “successful experiences”. Various reasons have been identified to reducing drop out and decreasing levels of physical activity (Keathley, Himelein, & Srigley, 2013); however, these are...

Fundamental movement skill (FMS) proficiency or the ability to perform basic skills (e.g., throwing, catching and jumping) has been linked to participation in lifelong physical activity. FMS proficiency amongst children has declined in the previous 15 years, with more children performing FMS at a low-mastery level. These declines may help explain t...

Purpose/Objectives: To assess the effects of a six-week Vinyasa yoga (VY) intervention on caregivers' overall quality of life (QOL) and psychological distress. Design: A single-group, pre- and post-test pilot study. Setting: University public recreational facility. Sample: 12 informal caregivers for patients with cancer. Methods: Caregivers partici...

Objective: This study explored balance performance and participant adherence to either the Wii Fit™ (Nintendo of America, Redmond, WA) or a proprioceptive BOSU® (Ashland, OH) ball balance program. Materials and Methods: Twenty university-aged participants were randomly allocated to either a Wii Fit or BOSU ball balance training program. Participan...

Sport and recreational activities are the leading cause of injury in youth, yet there is increasing evidence that many sport-related injuries are preventable. For injury prevention strategies to be effective, individuals must understand, adopt and adhere to the recommended prevention strategy or programme. Despite the recognized importance of a beh...

Background: A major factor influencing adherence to physical activity is the level of enjoyment derived from participating in the activity. Given the mass appeal of video games, technology that combines video games with physical activity (i.e., active gaming) is gaining popularity. Despite the large scale commercial growth however, few studies have...

Goals of work: Prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) are vulnerable to a number of potentially debilitating side effects, which can significantly impact quality of life. The role of alternate therapies, such as physical activity (PA), in attenuating these side effects is largely understudied for such a large populat...

The present study examined the efficacy of a theory-based intervention designed to positively influence physical activity (PA) behavior in a group of pediatric cancer survivors. Ten survivors participated in a 16-week PA intervention that targeted the main theoretical tenets of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Survivors were followed over a co...

As the number of pediatric survivors continues to grow, a greater emphasis is being placed on identifying long-term health risk/protecting behaviors. The primary purpose of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility of a theoretically-based physical activity (PA) intervention in adolescents with cancer. A group PA intervention was administered...

With an increasing population of childhood cancer survivors and a growing recognition of the long-term effects of diagnosis and treatment, it is imperative that modifiable risk factors for long-term health and disease comorbidity be identified and addressed. Physical activity is one therapy that is gaining credibility in enhancing quality of life a...

Notwithstanding the remarkable achievements in survival, there is a growing recognition that pediatric cancer survivors are faced with a variety of chronic health problems that may be exacerbated by maladaptive health behaviors. The purpose of the present study was to examine the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in understanding adol...

The purpose of the current study was to examine the viability of conducting a theory-based physical activity (PA) intervention on men with prostate cancer, and the impact of PA on quality of life (QOL). Participants were 31 men, average age of 67 years, with localized or metastatic prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Glob...

Although vaginal dilation is often recommended to minimize or prevent vaginal scarring after pelvic radiotherapy, compliance with this recommendation has historically been very low. Therefore, effective intervention strategies are needed to enhance compliance with vaginal dilation after radiotherapy for gynecologic cancer. This study was a randomiz...

With a growing consensus of the importance of physical activity across a number of health outcomes, the current study investigated the impact of a cancer diagnosis on adolescent physical activity behavior. Participants (n=97) completed a mailed, self-administered questionnaire in which they recalled their physical activity behaviors across the canc...

Preliminary evidence indicates that physical exercise may be an effective strategy for the rehabilitation of cancer patients following bone marrow transplantation (BMT), but the determinants of such exercise are not known. In this study, we used a prospective design to evaluate the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) as a social cognitive fram...

Preliminary evidence indicates that physical exercise may be an effective strategy for the rehabilitation of cancer patients following high dose chemotherapy (HDC) and bone marrow transplantation (BMT), but the focus of this research has been on physical fitness and medical outcomes. In the present study, we employed a prospective design to examine...

This preliminary study examined the relationship between leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and psychosocial well-being in 53 adolescents who were previously diagnosed with cancer. Participants completed a mailed, self-administered questionnaire in which they recalled their LTPA (including leisure time exercise and organized sport) at three time...